National Dairy FARM Program Releases Updated Drug Residue Manual

The National Dairy FARM Program has released the 2017 edition of its Milk and Dairy Beef Drug Residue Prevention Manual, the primary educational tool for dairy managers about the judicious, responsible use of antibiotics and how to prevent drug residues in milk and meat.

The Milk and Dairy Beef Drug Residue Prevention Manual serves as a valuable tool to the over 40,000 dairy producers who participate in the FARM Program. It is a convenient resource used by dairy farmers to review the antibiotics approved for use in dairy animals, and to develop comprehensive on-farm best management practices necessary to avoid milk and meat residues. The manual includes the most up-to-date veterinary drug information supplied by manufactures, including appropriate withdrawal times.

The 2017 edition now identifies drugs subject to the newly implemented Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD), and contains updated industry data on the declining presence of antibiotic residues found in milk. It also contains newly approved products released in calendar year 2016. A Spanish version and smaller, pocket-size version will be released in summer 2017.

According to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration report, only 1 out of 8,800 milk tankers – or 0.011 percent – tested positive for antibiotics in 2016, an 89 percent decrease since 1995. Any tanker of milk that tests positive when it arrives at a processing plant must be destroyed. Additionally, none of the 38,563 retail-ready milk products sampled tested positive for drug residues.

“In the last two decades, the stewardship efforts of farmers and veterinarians is demonstrated by the continuing decline in traces of antibiotic residues in milk leaving the farm,” said NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern. “This data demonstrates the dairy industry’s never-ending commitment to producing safe, abundant, and affordable milk and dairy beef, due in part to efforts like FARM.”

“The responsible use of antibiotics has a positive impact on animal health while maintaining a safe milk supply for the public,” said Jamie Jonker, NMPF’s vice president of sustainability and scientific affairs. “The 2017 manual is another step in the U.S. dairy industry’s continued commitment to the judicious use of antimicrobials.”

NMPF and the FARM Program thanked the following sponsors of the 2017 manual: Merck Animal Health, Elanco, Zoetis, Merial and Charm Sciences.

The FARM Program, created by NMPF in 2009, demonstrates that U.S. milk producers are committed to providing the best in animal care, residue prevention and environmental stewardship.